Newsmart Word of the Week: Inculator

In the world of start-ups, there are ‘incubators’ and ’accelerators’, both programs which are usually set up by investment firms. Now, there are also ’inculators’, a combination of the two.

Accelerators aim to help massively grow a start-up in the short term, with mentoring, an injection of capital and sometimes employees, while leveraging the contacts of the accelerator and the collaborative network. They usually last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and the most well known is Y Combinator which focuses on Silicon Valley. This short term focus allows firms to take relatively low risk gambles on new businesses, forcing them to sink or swim quickly.

Incubators are similar to accelerators but look further into the future, believing that new businesses need time to mature and really get as much value as they can from prolonged mentoring and direction. The average incubation cycle offered is between 2 and 3 years.

An ’Inculator’ is a mixture of the two, predominantly an accelerator but taking much more time to build and support a business, supporting them for roughly a year. Recently ’inculators’ have gained popularity, showing that investors are beginning to take bigger, more calculated risks on new business ventures.

To see our last word of the week, ‘MOOC’, click here

Originally published at www.getnewsmart.com.